On the previous day, the hotel association (Ashotel) petitioned the Government representative in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, for an “urgent” meeting, which should include the heads of the National Police Corps, following the “hour-long” queues recorded at the arrivals terminal of Tenerife Sur airport due to a shortage of staff. Amidst the peak tourist season, hoteliers in Tenerife have once again raised concerns about the extended lines of passengers forming at passport control, which predominantly affect British visitors.
The hotel association points out that this issue was flagged a year ago and, despite discussions with AENA officials and those from the Playa de Las Américas Police Station, “no resolution has been reached regarding a scenario that is unbecoming of a premier tourist destination.”
The arrival last Thursday of several delegations from the tourism sector at Tenerife South, coming from London airports after the World Travel Market, highlighted the “inaction of the relevant authorities.” Out of the four passport control booths, which could accommodate eight officers, only two were operational, as reported by Ashotel, leading to a delay exceeding one hour due to the influx of arrivals from the United Kingdom.
The situation worsens further, according to the employers, as more than 30 biometric passport self-service machines installed in areas A and B remain non-functional. Some AENA operators have informed Ashotel representatives that “there are additional machines in storage, and it is unclear when they will be installed or when the ones already in place will become operational.”
In addition to these circumstances, the employers indicate that passengers also experience delays when attempting to secure a taxi. “Following numerous meetings and suggestions to the Cabildo of Tenerife to designate the ports and airports as strategic island infrastructure and to establish a unified service area within them, taxis from tourist municipalities and the metropolitan region can consistently pick up clients under the same conditions. Ashotel criticises the preferential rights granted to taxi licences from municipalities with airports.
